Rex and Hannah Chronicles Story 46: The Island
by Tim66
Summary: Rex and Hannah investigate a mysterious island that has appeared in the South Pacific.


DISCLAIMER: The characters of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster are the property of Spelling Productions and were created by Constance M. Burge. The characters of Randolph Carter and all Cthulhu Mythos characters are the property of the estate of H.P. Lovecraft.

 **THE PLACE: THE SOUTH PACIFIC**

 **THE TIME: JUNE 12th, 1916**

George Morris rowed with all his might. _The more distance I can put between myself and that German sea raider, the better,_ he thought. The young merchant marine had never thought he'd run into Germans here, so far from Europe, where the Great War had been raging for two years now. Yet his boat had been surprised by the appearance of the raider. However, George was resourceful, and he soon managed to liberate some supplies and steal this life boat from right under the noses of the Germans. Now he was rowing in a westward direction, hoping to find some more friendly folks. Night had now fallen, and George was navigating by the stars. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like waves crashing against a shore. Lighting a lantern, George consulted a map (both the lantern and map had been among the supplies he had liberated from the Germans). _That's odd, the map doesn't indicate any islands in this area,_ George thought. _Must be uncharted._ Curious, George rowed towards the sounds and a shoreline did appear out of the darkness. Beaching the boat, George then bedded down and slept.

The next morning, George rose and began to trek inland, to see what this mysterious island would reveal. He had gone less than a mile before he halted at the sight before him,. "Merciful God in Heaven!" George proclaimed as he crossed himself, his eyes trying to comprehend the sight before him...

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **THE PLACE: ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS**

 **THE TIME: MAY 16, 2017**

"Rex, did you see this," Hannah Webster asked her husband, Rex Buckland. The two of them were in their usual booth at the Burger Bar, and Hannah was, as usual, on her lap top computer.

"What is it, Hannah?" Rex asked.

"According to this satellite image, a new island has appeared in the South Pacific," Hannah replied and turned the computer towards Rex so he could see the article in question.

"Well, that is interesting," Rex said. "If I'm right, that's the same location where..."

Before he could continue, their friend, Staci Clarke, arrived with their meals. "Here you go," Staci said and put the meals down in front of the two former Warlocks. Staci noticed the lap top open. "What is it?" she asked.

"An island has appeared in the South Pacific," Hannah replied. "It wasn't there a few days ago."

"Is it related to whatever it is that you two have going on?" Staci asked. "I mean what I said last Halloween. I want to help."

"We're not sure yet, Staci," Rex said. "However, we will let you know when we find out more."

"I hope so," Staci said and departed to take care of other customers.

"Well, Hannah, she's determined, I'll give her that," Rex said,

"Yeah, but how much should we really tell her," Hannah said. "Now that we have more free time." Since the academic year had now ended at Miskatonic University, Rex and Hannah were now free to devote more time to their quest to stop the Old Ones from conquering Earth. With the summer break now started, the two of them had hoped to track down some good leads. Could this strange island be one such lead?

"I'm not sure, Hannah," Rex said and pulled out his cell phone. "However, I'm going to give Mister Carter a call and see what he knows about this. Perhaps the Inner Circle might have some insights into this matter."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

A few hours later, Randolph Carter met Rex and Hannah at the two former Warlock's home, a few miles outside of Arkham. "I'm glad you called, Rex," Randolph said. "We were just about to call you on this matter."

"The island?" Hannah asked.

"Yes, we believe that it is connected to the Old Ones," Randolph said.

"That supports a theory I have," Rex said. "In 1916, a merchant marine, who had escaped a German sea raider, claimed to have discovered such an island in that same area. He said he saw some terrible things on that island. However, once he got back to civilization, no one took the poor fellow seriously."

"We did," Randolph said. "The Inner Circle interviewed George Morris, that was his name, by the way. We believed his testimony. However, when we went out to where the island was supposedly located, we couldn't find it. We assumed it had, like some Pacific islands were known to do, sunk as mysteriously as it had surfaced."

"Yes, that has been known to happen," Rex said.. "Some of those islands go up and down, like a yo-yo."

"And you think that this is that same island, the one that Morris guy saw in 1916?" Hannah asked.

"It's possible, Hannah," Randolph said. "Of course, the only real way to find out is to go out there and see for ourselves."

"You read my mind, Mister Carter," Rex said. "I was just considering a little expedition out to that island myself."

"Give me a couple of days to make arrangements, and then we'll go," Randolph said. "It's been quite some time since I was out in the field."

 _And if this is connected to the Old Ones, let's hope that no one else gets too curious and decides to explore that island,_ Hannah thought.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **MAY 18** **th**

Rex and Hannah stood outside their house, waiting for Randolph. He had called that morning, and said that everything had been arranged. _Of course, I could have just translocated the lot of us there, but I'd rather not do that without knowing more about what we're getting into,_ Rex thought.

"Look, here he is," Hannah said, as she indicated Randolph's car, that was pulling into their driveway.

"Rex, Hannah, ready to go?" Randolph asked as he got out of his car.

"Yes, just let Hannah and I get some of our gear and then we'll be off," Rex replied as he and Hannah tuned back towards the front door of their house.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **THE SOUTH PACIFIC**

 **MAY 20** **th**

The three of them had taken a flight from Boston to Brisbane, Australia. After resting up for a couple of days, to get over their jet lag, they then rented a boat and, after loading up on supplies, headed out into the Pacific. Each of them took a turn driving the boat.

Hannah was sunbathing on the deck, when Rex arrived, bringing her a Diet Pepsi. "Here you go," Rex said as he handed Hannah her drink.

"Thanks, Rex," Hannah said.

"You're welcome," Rex replied.

"Rex, I'm confused about one thing," Hannah then said. "You said that this guy, Morris, encountered a German sea raider, in 1916. What were the Germans doing out here in the Pacific? We're a long way from Europe."

"Before the First World War, Germany held some territory in the Pacific," Rex said. "After the war was over, much of that territory was ceded to Japan. Perhaps that was not such a good idea, in light of later events."

"Yeah, I guess so," Hannah said.

"Anyway, Mister Carter says we're getting close to our mysterious island."

"How far away is it?" Hannah asked.

"About five miles now," Rex said, "According to the G.P.S. Unless we end up lost on _Gilligan's Island_ , of course," Rex finished with a smile.

"Or Skull Island," Hannah added. "Wasn't that located somewhere around here, Rex? I wonder if whomever originally wrote _King Kong_ heard about this island we're gong to and incorporated it into the story?"

"Hmmmmm, it's possible, I suppose," Rex said. "One can never be sure."

"Land ho!" Randolph cried out, bringing everyone to the bridge.

"Is it the island?" Hannah asked.

"It looks like it," Randolph said as he pointed out in front of the boat. An island could be seen getting closer. An island with what appeared to be strange ruins on it. The island looked to be covered in slime, clearly indicating that, until recently, it had been underwater. Randolph then slowed the boat and began to look for a place that the three of them could easily go ashore.

 _This does match what George Morris said he saw a century ago,_ Rex thought.

 _Looks like we're here,_ Hannah thought.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After finding a narrow cove in which to anchor their boat, the travellers went ashore and looked at the ruins. "Those ruins remind you of anything, Hannah?" Rex asked.

"Yeah, the city we saw on Yuggoth, R'lyeh." Hannah replied. "Only on a smaller scale.

I guess this confirms it that the Old Ones are connected to this island."

"Yeah, and I wish we were wrong," Rex said as the three of them moved into the ruins. The buildings, like those on Yuggoth, were clearly built to accommodate beings that were shaped differently that humans.

"Well, I hope we find some answers soon," Randolph said. "We don't want anyone else finding this island."

"That we don't, Mister Carter," Rex said.

"Rex, look, is that writing?" Hannah asked as she pointed to some illustrations on one of the walls.

"It is indeed," Rex replied. He opened his nap sack and pulled out a pen and some paper. "I'll get started on this at once. It might tell us something."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Several hours later, Rex had his answers. "Well, from what I can translate, this is an account of the final battle of the war, when the Old Ones were defeated and locked away. One of the Old Ones, was sent on here ahead, like the Mi-go were, and had used this island as a base of operations, here on Earth. On this island, this Old One had developed weapons which were deployed against the forces of Good and Evil. However, those weapons came too late to change the outcome of the war. The Old Ones were defeated before they had a chance to do too much damage with those weapons."

"Weapons?" Hannah asked, "I never heard that part before. What were those weapons?"

"The Hollow and the Nothing," Rex replied.

"What!? You mean..."

"Yes, Hannah, I do. I guess that explains why both the Hollow and Nothing do not distinguish between Good and Evil magic. They were created by the Old Ones to destroy both."

"Wow," Hannah said. "I guess that, after the war was over, the Hollow and Nothing were taken as spoils of war by our side. The Nothing was put to use to deal with Demon Children, but the Hollow was too dangerous, and too hard to control, and was locked away."

"That is them mostly likely reason, Hannah." Rex said.

"You two sound like you've dealt with these weapons," Randolph said.

"Actually, we haven't," Rex replied. "However, our friends, the Halliwell sisters, have. They actually dealt with the Hollow twice, and both times it was a near disaster."

"But they came out ahead, right?" Randolph asked.

"Barely," Rex replied grimly. "Mind you, Hannah and myself were not present at either incident, rather the Halliwell sisters told us about it later."

"Yeah, the idiot Source thought he could use the Hollow to defeat the Charmed Ones," Hannah said. "He had no idea what he was fooling around with. It got him vanquished, in the end, but the results of that battle had grave repercussions for Cole Turner."

"Your friend in San Francisco? What happened to him?" Randolph asked.

"It's a long story, Randolph," Rex said. "One we don't have time to relate at present."

"Do you think that the Halliwell's ever wondered about the origins of the Hollow?" Hannah asked.

"I have no idea, Hannah. Next time we talk to them, we'll have to tell them about what we've discovered here." Rex turned back to the writing. "After the war was over, the forces of Good and Evil sank this island, so no one could ever discover it. I guess they didn't take into account that the island would surface every so often."

Something had been nagging at Hannah ever since Rex had read the translation, and now she figure it what it was. "Rex, if the Old Ones were locked away, before this island was sunk, then who wrote all this down? The Mi-go?"

"No, Hannah, according to this, it was Hastur. He was the Old One who was sent here to this island. He was the one that created the Hollow and Nothing."

"Hastur?" Hannah asked. "That Old One mentioned on that black stone we saw in India? The one that somehow eluded both Good and Evil and was never locked away, like his fellow Old Ones were?"

"Yes, him. Apparently, he wanted a record kept, regardless of the outcome," Rex replied grimly.

"Well, this changes everything," Randolph said. "You think that Hastur is still here on this island?"

"That, Mr. Carter, is a distinct possibility," Rex said.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

What Rex, Hannah, and Randolph didn't know, however, what that they were not alone on the island and that they were being watched. "Damn! What the hell are they doing here?" Herbert West said to the deformed women next to him.

"I was afraid of this,"Johanna Martense replied. "This island was bound to draw attention. When I cast the spell that brought the island to the surface again, I didn't take into account modern technology. I guess it was fated that someone else would find this island, but I never thought it would be them."

"So what do we do now?" West asked. "Those meddling Warlocks are sure to interfere, once they find out why we're here."

"We continue our quest," Johanna replied. "We've come too far to turn back now." Since joining forces, in their quest to free the Old Ones, a year and a half before, Johanna and Herbert West had scoured the Earth, looking for any means possible to do that. They had first sought out the Mi-go habitats, but had discovered that most of them were long abandoned, with the exceptions of the ones in Greenland and the Himalayas. It was the Mi-go in the Himalayas that had told Johanna of this island, and the secret it contained.

"You're right, of course," West said. "The Old Ones be praised."

"The Old Ones be praised," Johanna said back.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"What is it, Hannah?" Rex asked when he noticed that his wife seemed a little jumpy.

"I don't know, Rex, but I just got the feeling that we're being watched," Hannah replied as she looked around. "It's gone now."

"It's probably just this island," Randolph said. "It's enough to give anyone the creeps."

"Considering what was done here, Mr. Carter, I'm not surprised," Rex said.

"So what now, Rex?" Hannah asked.

"We press on, Hannah. This island has not given up all its secrets to us yet."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The three of them resumed their exploration of the ruins and soon came upon what appeared to be a temple of some kind. "Well, well, what have we here?" Rex asked.

"Whatever it is, it looks important," Randolph said.

"Indeed it does, Mister Carter. Shall we go inside and have a look?"

"What do you think we'll find, Rex?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know, Hannah, but I don't think we're going to like it."

 _I was afraid he was going to say that,_ Hannah thought.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The interior of the temple contained a room that was dominated by a huge sarcophagus in the center of it. "Looks like a tomb of some kind," Hannah said.

"Yes, it does. However, Hannah, looks can be deceiving," Rex said as he and Randolph moved in closer to examine the sarcophagus. There was some writing on the top of it, and it didn't take Rex long to translate it. Once he had done that, he face went as white as milk.

"What is it, Rex? What's wrong?" Hannah asked.

"Hannah, not too long ago we speculated that Hastur was still on this island," Rex replied. "We were right, he's right here." He pointed at the sarcophagus.

"I thought the Old Ones couldn't die. At least not the way we understand death."

"He isn't dead, Hannah. Hastur knew that the forces of Good and Evil would sink this island, so he sealed himself up in here and placed himself in some kind of suspended animation. And here he's been for the last five thousand years," Rex replied and pointed to another bit of writing. "If you utter that incantation, you'll wake him up."

"Well, I guess we're not saying that incantation then," Hannah said.

"No, we're not," Rex said. "Much as it loathes me to do so, we must contact the White Lighter Elders and tell them about this. They need to know about Hastur," He closed his eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened.

"What's happening, Rex?" Randolph asked. "Your friends not picking up?"

"It's more than that, Mister Carter, something seems to be blocking me."

"Blocking you?" Hannah asked. "Who is doing that?"

"Not who, but what." A new voice said. The trio whirled around to see Johanna Martense and Herbert West standing there. "You'll also notice that none of your magical powers are working either. Great Hastur knew how to plan ahead. As long as you are on this island, you are powerless, due to a dampening field Hastur placed around the island," Johanna said.

Hannah attempted to transform herself into a lion, but found that she couldn't do so. _Damn, they're right,_ she thought.

At that point, Herbert West pulled out a gun. "All of you, put your hands in the air. And no tricks!" As he watched, Rex, Hannah, and Randolph slowly raised their hands.

"Johanna Martense," Rex said. "Long time no see. I thought I'd put an end to you and your degenerate family, two years ago."

"You did put an end to my family, but I alone survived," Johanna said. "You cost me, Mr. Buckland, you cost me so much."

"I had no choice. You and your family were abducting innocent people so you could breed them to keep your family going."

"Yes," Johanna said sadly. "There is nothing more that can be done for my family, at least not yet."

"I see you've picked up a new friend," Rex said, indicating Herbert West. "Well, Dr. West, you look rather lively, considering that the last time we met, you were a ghost."

"Johanna used magic to make me live again," West said. "Serving the Old Ones has its perks, Buckland."

"So you two have teamed up," Hannah said. "Why are you here?"

"Because of that," Johanna said and indicated the sarcophagus. "We had thought that the Old Ones were all sealed away in that other dimension. Now we know that one of them escaped your cursed forces of Good and Evil. Great Hastur will help usher in the return of the other Old Ones."

"Well, I'm afraid he's not available at the moment," Rex said. "He seems to be taking a rather long nap."

"We know about the incantation to wake him up," West said. "You're rather good with old languages, Buckland. Why not save us a great deal of trouble and utter said incantation."

"You know I'll never do that, West," Rex replied. "Unlike you two, I know what the Old Ones will do to the Earth if they ever got free. Every man, woman, and child would be destroyed."

"Rubbish! The Old Ones would never do that," Johanna said. "That is just propaganda put out by fools who don't understand the boon that the Old One could bring to humanity. As they say, the victors write the history books. Your side of Good and Evil has had the last five thousand years to smear the good names of the Old Ones."

 _The scary part is that she really believes that,_ Hannah thought as she studied Johanna's face. _She's not trying to play us, she really believes that the Old Ones could be a force for good._

"The only thing that the Old Ones will bring to humanity is its ending," Rex said. "I've seen it myself. And so has Hannah."

"Enough! I don't believe anything you say."

"Regardless, Ms. Martense, I'm not going to utter that incantation for you," Rex said defiantly.

"I figured you'd be that way," Johanna said and turned to West. "Herbert, if you will."

"Okay, you three, get moving," West said and indicated with his gun. "That way!"

"We better do as he says," Rex said to Hannah and Randolph.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

At gunpoint, Rex, Hannah, and Randolph were marched out of the temple and to a nearby building. "In there!" Herbert said and indicated a doorway. The three of them entered, and watched as a door slid shut, sealing them in.

"Well, now what?" Hannah said as the three of them turned on their flashlights, lighting up the room.

"We escape, of course," Rex said. "However, since our powers won't work here, we do it the hard way. Mister Carter, if you'll give me a hand." The two men moved over to the door and began to push against it.

"Can you get it open?" Hannah asked.

"I think so, Hannah."

At that point, a rumble was heard and the room shook. "That doesn't sound good," Randolph said.

"Indeed not, Mister Carter," Rex said. "It looks like this island is about to sink again. And if we don't get out of here fast, the three of us are going down with it."

"Then we better get this door open!" Randolph said.

As Hannah watched, the two men redoubled their efforts, and slowly, the door began to open. All the while the rumbling was growing worse.

"There! That's got it," Randolph said. He and Rex had managed to get the door open just enough for the three of them to squeeze through to safety.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The island was now shaking so much that some of the ruins were beginning to collapse. "I think it best that we get back to our boat as soon as possible," Rex said.

"What about Johanna Martense and West?" Hannah asked. "Should we look for them?"

"We don't have time, Hannah," Rex said. "If the two of them have any sense, they too will leave this island. If not, well, that's not our problem."

"Besides, anything is better than helping them raise Hastur," Randolph added as the shaking and rumbling grew worse.

"We meed to go NOW!" Rex said. Neither Hannah nor Randolph saw any reason to disagree as they saw the water levels around the island start to rise ominously.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

From the safely of their boat, Rex, Hannah, and Randolph watched as the island once again sank beneath the sea. "Thank God that's over," Hannah said.

"Is it?" Rex asked.

"What do you mean, Rex?"

"Don't you find it odd, Hannah, that the island would choose that moment to sink again?" "Yeah, it was odd," Hannah said. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know, Hannah. However, I get the feeling that this wasn't the end of something, but the beginning"

"What about Johanna Martense and Herbert West?" Randolph asked. "Do you think that they died when the island sank again. Are they at the bottom of the sea with Hastur?"

"It would be better for all of humanity if that were the case," Rex replied.

 _I hope it is the case,_ Hannah thought. _Anything is better than the idea of Hastur being let loose in the world. This guy made the Hollow, so it's clear that he won't have humanity's best interests at heart._

"So what now, Rex?" Hannah asked.

"First of all, we swing by San Francisco and tell the Halliwell sisters what we've discovered out here. They can at least update their Book Of Shadows in regards to the Hollow, which might help, should they ever have the misfortune to run into it again. After that, we go home. However, we're going to have to be even more vigilant from now on." Rex looked at both Hannah and Randolph. "When the next shoe drops, I want to be ready for it."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **EPILOGUE: AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION**

"That was quite a risk, Johanna, using your spell to sink the island again," Herbert West said. "Do you think that Buckland, his wife, and their friend perished in the sinking?"

"I don't know," Johanna said. "However, it doesn't matter now whether they lived or died.. We have what we went there for." She indicated the sarcophagus, which was in the center of the cave that the two of them were now in. "Too bad Buckland and his friends didn't know that only the magic of those that serve the Old Ones would work on that island. While their powers were neutralized, mine still worked."

"Which is how you managed to get the two of us, and Hastur, off the island in time," West replied.

"Yes, and now I will reveal another secret that Buckland didn't know about. That I already know the incantation to wake Hastur." With that, Johanna turned to the sarcophagus and uttered an incantation that no human was meant to hear.

As Johanna and West watched, the sarcophagus began to glow with a bright, green light. The top then slid open and a figure, too horrible to describe in human terms, sat up.

"Welcome back, my lord, Hastur," Johanna said as she and West dropped to their knees in worship. "We await your orders..."

 **REX AND HANNAH WILL RETURN!**


End file.
